


World War Academy

by REKAiGNITE



Category: Original Work
Genre: Academy, Action, Blood and Violence, Cussing, Eventual Relationships, Gen, Gun Violence, Guns, Modern Era, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24302278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/REKAiGNITE/pseuds/REKAiGNITE
Summary: Several years in the future, the world experiences not just one but two more world wars, during which a new sentient species comes down and fights with the war against the insurgency that threatens the rest of the world. Countless deaths and fighting led to the end of the war, creating a new order in the world. With humans and Falseans living among each other, the world has never been peaceful.Akani Kizuato, an 18-year-old graduate has had a life far from peaceful, in fact, a miserable one. from losing most of his family in the war, getting rejected by almost every University in the world despite being one of the top-ranked students in the class, and now being held at gunpoint, His life was just getting started. The path ahead will not only bring new problems to him but will reveal the truth and the reality of true identity.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my name is Reka and this is my first original story... Actually my first work I have ever posted in any website. So don't expect too much out of me haha! 
> 
> This story was inspired by multiple anime's, manga's, and video games that I have watched, read, or played. I always had an idea of a story but was kind of scared to lay it out because... Well I never knew how to post a story or have ever thought of writing it out in text. My girlfriend later on egged me on to post it and here we are. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy my first chapter or pilot of the series. Feedback on anything is greatly appreciated and I hope you have a good day, night, morning, or evening. Enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should've posted this before I started my story, knowing that this story is completely original. And I promise, I had this whole story idea written out before 2020 started so just putting out a disclaimer out there :)

Before the events that unfold on Akani, it is best to explain how everything was set in place… 

  


The year 2020… when everything started to go to shit. The entire world begins to fall apart with unrest, natural disasters and new problems being faced. While this was going on, a new radicalized group was growing behind the shadows of the world. This group would soon be called the Aleone Liberation Front, mainly referred to as the Mid-Asian Insurgency by their adversaries as time went on. They were led by the founder of the idea, Lorean Kiannes. Their idea was power by authority and violence, pure Darwinistic ideals. Be “liberated” by true freedom. All governments considered by the insurgency were corrupt, bringing peace by crippling the system. 

  


Decades go by and the problems of the world were not going to get better, but worse. Civil unrest between governments and its citizens suddenly turned into civil wars, most notably in Russia. The country had started its revolution for the third time. The US government was the same except it was only in California and a few other states. Unknowingly, the insurgency started to take over the Middle-Eastern countries and began expanding their military force. With assets from the countries taken over, they had finally become strong enough to face many first world countries. Bringing havoc and chaos to the states they took over, they headed towards the European States, areas of North Africa, and prominent East Asia. 

  


Their presence started to get noticed as soon they reached the southern border of Russia. Slowly, they began to take over the Siberian plains and head towards the capitol. Other European countries fell with the sheer amount of force that the MAI came with and the Asian States were the same. China, despite having its full power, couldn’t handle the tactics that the insurgency was hitting them with. With the threat of the world now at risk, NATO and other pacts immediately started to fight back the insurgency. 

  


This would last for a few decades until they had reached a stalemate. NATO successfully fended off the invasion of Russia and some parts of Europe, but with difficulty and strength in numbers, they only could fend off half of North Africa but lost everything in Asia. Likewise, China and the Korean Peninsula were completely taken over. The assets of those countries created a huge threat to the world, fearing nuclear war and the destruction and death of the people who lived under that rule. 

  


Every country that was not under MAI rule created a new pact… The West European Atlantic Pact or WEAP. The main goal for this pact was simple: bring order back into the world and bring down the MAI to establish peace. Both sides did not fire a single bullet for fifty years. 

  


All in the while, during this period, NASA had come into contact with a new sentient species that was closely aligned to humans, but had more advancements in their technologies. Communication was quite easy and was learned quickly by both sides. The beings agreed on a visit with the WEAP representatives and scientists around the world. They called themselves Falseans, from their home planet Falsea. The whole planet was governed by a single government, almost democracy like. 

  


The Falsean representatives took a little tour around several countries, learning about the life and culture the humans lived in, but it only was a matter of time that they had landed in a terrible period. They found out the reality of the world and that every country that they have met was at war with the MAI. Fortunately, they sided with the WEAP and lent their help with new weapons, technology, and other advancements. Quickly, research facilities were made and new fleets of advanced vehicles were made. They renamed the pact to include the new ally… Western-Falsea Treaty Alliance. 

  


Few years later, a new discovery of a substance that would give unnatural powers to those who implant it would be great benefit for the pact. It was very unknown of, what it was and how it worked, and fears grew quickly that if this substance were to be known outside the alliance, it would be detrimental to the war. The would call these powers as Elements and the substance as Sei Crystals. The thought of using it in warfare and other situations were on the table but would not be implemented until later on. 

  


Finally after fifty years, the silence broke. The MAI made a surprise attack at Hawaii and California Coast. This resulted in mass amounts of important personnel and assets to be destroyed or killed. This would mark the first day of the fourth war. The MAI suddenly marched through the borderlines of the European and African theatres and kept on going as if their numbers were infinite. With the new tech, the alliance managed to keep the MAI in place and started to push them back. 

  


While the European and African fronts were getting bombarded, the new focus was on the Pacific and the Asian coast. China and Korea had been completely taken over, but the Philippines and Japan was not fully controlled yet by the MAI. Small militias kept them at bay from moving or gaining territory. The alliance had a risky plan to take back the islands and slowly gain control over the mainland. At this point, the alliance had mastered complete stealth technology and plan to use transports to make a base that would set up as the main points of attack to Japan and the Philippines. The small Japanese island of Ogasawara was the main point of interest. By transporting tons of materials and equipment needed to make the base and even a floating air pad while staying off the radar, they used hundreds of massive stealth VTOL aircraft the size of a football field and traveled during the middle of the night. The operation needed to put all the focus on the European and African fronts to distract the small buildings and secretly provide equipment to the Militias. This whole operation would become known as Operation: Peace Island. 

  


The operation commenced with transporting a fleet of aircraft at the middle of the night, spread out like flies with no pattern. The risk was very high since the radars off the coast of China was very well known to detect a lot of things, and the stealth tech that was implemented was only tested in the labs with the same specifications as the Chinese. Luckily they had reached the island with no problems what so ever and construction of the new base was established. A few weeks later the first assault on the Japanese and Philippine Islands occurred. The islands were successfully taken over within weeks and the landings of the Chinese and Korean coasts started. Within a few months after the landings and the base creation, the MAI had one final effort to try and destroy the European and African Front. Their secret weapon, known as the SATAN-5 was a complete weapon of mass destruction that would be a carrier of Atomic Bombers and Missile Launchers. With the final push from the alliance and a great sacrifice of many, the carrier was shot down near the European Front. The numbers of the insurgency dwindled as the fight was now pushing them back into the middle east. 

  


Within weeks, the insurgency was powerless. Countries in Asia were now free from insurgency rule and bullets from Europe and Africa stopped. These world wars would claim the lives of millions and destroy the homes of the innocent. With the world now at peace, the world can now start to recover from its wounds. 

  


With a new centralized UN like government established, under the direction of Ellhis Kizuato, this would create the United Federations of Falsea and Earth or the UFFE. This would help countries affected get the resources needed to start back up again. 

  


Ogasawara would presumably blow up due to its significance and secrecy of assets but the Federation would let it become a new research facility and city for the Sei Crystals. With the infrastructure already in place, it could safely house almost nearly the size of Houston with its foundations and the technology available.  
  
The city was built with a stealth field around the islands, concealing it from outsiders and satellites. The island would also be home of the very discrete Academy, a university and research facility that specializes in Sei Crystals and Element powers. Students from this school would be selected by specialized characteristics that would benefit them and the school entirely, as the academy is well known for its combat specializations. 

  


For what its history was worth, it was quite a mouthful but, it’s better knowing more than not knowing anything. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this would help clear up some confusion with the current chapters posted. Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Sentimental Crisis

I should probably introduce myself... 

  


My name is Akani Kizuato, eighteen, and a twenty-seventy-eight high school graduate. I would go on about my life and just my background… but honestly, who would want to learn about that boring crap. 

  


I was minding my own business and dealing with my problems that for some odd reason, just crashed on me like a falling anvil. To explain, somehow, I got rejected by every school in the nation, maybe even in the world, and It somehow became the main talk of the school: a guy like me couldn’t get any acceptance to a college. 

  


My friends talked about it to me, and anybody who could manage to get a word in tried to ask what happened. It was aggravating to the point I nearly punched a kid in the face that was asking a question that was not even relevant to the topic. 

  


Fast forward to graduation day, one of the top-ranked students in the class. Everyone cheered for me when I got up, but I knew that it was simply to just cheer me up. Holding that diploma and shaking the principal’s hand was nothing but bittersweet. 

  


\----- 

  


Almost everyone left the school immediately once the bells rang, leaving the halls empty and quiet. I could have joined in the flock that was progressing through the main yard but, with everything going on, I needed a breather. 

  


I went to the maintenance room that led up to the rooftop. It was always unlocked, but no one comes here that often so I ended up using it to my advantage through out the years. I got up on the roof, sat down, and let my mind drift off… merely thinking about my life up to this point. Now finished with high school, virtually having nowhere to go, and no future planned out, this is a dead-end. 

  


“So... four years to get a piece of paper huh… what a fucking waste.” I rolled it up back into its tube and threw it back in my bag, only to take out my uneaten lunch. I moved and sat at the edge of the building, dangling my legs off the ledge. As I ate, I had this feeling of frustration, uncomfortably sitting in my gut. I kept on eating until... 

  


“AGHHHH, FUCK!” I stood up furiously and threw my lunch off the building, landing near the pavement. I got on my knees and threw an unforgiving punch to the innocent gravel. My knuckles started to bleed and the pain added to my misery. 

  


“Why did my life have to be like this?” I breathed deeply and regained consciousness. I sat down and looked up towards the sky, trying to gather up my mind and relax. 

  


“Just calm down, calm down…” I later laid down and meditated over what had happened. I guess I did let my emotions get to me this time. It has been a while since I have felt… almost incomplete. With the circumstances I had dealt with, it was all too much for me. My pocket vibrated suddenly. I took out my phone to see the screen with the picture of my mother and me. Why is she now calling me out of the blue? 

  


“Hello?” As soon as the call connected, I was immediately blasted with tons of background commotion, from people talking and shouting. “Hello? You there mom?” 

  


“Ah, Aki! There you are! Sorry, I just got a five-minute break for my job. I just wanted to say congratulations on graduating!” My mother works as the prime minister of the UFFE after the wars. It would’ve been good to mention the wars we had beforehand. 

  


“Oh. Um, thank you?” I just wasn’t feeling it today. I was not mentally there today. “Is there something that you need from me?” 

  


“Oh yea! um… how’s the college situation going on? Did you manage to figure something out?” She was already in the know about my helpless situation… She didn’t feel resentful or disappointed in me, just very hopeful but in a way that she doesn’t expect expect results from this mess… If that would make any sense. 

  


“Well… um…” I couldn’t piece my words together. My emotions just keep tripping them over and over and over. I let out my breath. “It’s no hope.” Her voice sounded dispirited, but it only made sense. 

  


“I am still trying to do everything, I can make it work somehow.” She sighed. 

  


“You know Akani, if anything doesn’t work out, you can always just… you know.” Here she goes again. 

  


“Mom, I will not join the military just because everyone else in the family has.” Every time my mother had a chance to talk to me, she would always bring up me going into the military, and every time, I would reject the offer. 

  


“Akani, you know it is not always in the front lines, you can just be a mechanic or an office worker or-“ I couldn’t take it anymore. 

  


“Mom, just please, for once... let me choose what I want. You know how I am about it… with dad and Ellie.” I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. I was about to blow up on my mom, but this is the only time I would get to talk to her, with her being as busy as she always is. I never get to talk to her, let alone meet her. She sighed in frustration. 

  


“Just… be wise about your decision. You can never know what you are capable of until you try.” The background got saturated with noise and I could tell there was a lot of movement from the phone. “Listen, I have to go now. I’ll send you a loan for your expenses and other things if anything does happen. Just text me or call if you need anything else. You know I love you, Aki.” 

  


“I know I love you too.” I hung up the phone. Why did everything have to be this way? Everyone is having the time of their lives while I’m… abandoned. Left to fend for myself, not even the school could’ve helped me. I guess there’s nothing I can do. 

  


I grabbed everything that I brought with me and headed to the stairwell until the door burst open in front of me. The loud thud of the door startled me and took my attention by surprise. 

  


“Hey! What are you doing up here!?” An angry voice pierced through the calm surroundings, throwing my whole routine out the window. “You can’t be up here!” Promptly, I looked towards the entrance to see a guard staring straight back at me. Slowly, I walked backward, not turning away from him. 

  


“Don’t you dare move!” There’s one thing that many people don’t know about me. I may be one of the top people ranked in this school, but I may have done things that might get me in trouble with the school... probably with the law as well. With that, I managed to learn some things that… well… give me a better advantage if you know what I mean. 

  


I rushed into the other direction, which the guard started to sprint after me. The rooftop is quite high, but every section was built in a way that it was easy to manuver around, plus there are no fences up here. The majority of the rooftop also has a bed of gravel on top so it is quite easy to land but hard to run on. I made my way down to the back of the school only to be stopped by a steep drop to the ground. The guard behind me was slowly gaining on me. 

  


I could still hear him yelling me to stop, but his voice started to give away. I looked around to see a path for me to get down. All the walls had windows, and the bricks were very smooth, so I couldn’t simply slow my fall by climbing down. I looked a little more and found a rain pipe near the back entrance. It was a suitable distance for me to grab on to, but it was also far enough to where if I messed up, I would be sitting in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I took a deep breath― as my surroundings slowed down. 

  


My mind kept running about thinking to myself that either... “I’m going to make it…” to “don’t fuck up, don’t fuck up…”. To be honest, this hasn’t been the craziest thing I’ve done in my life compared to some other things that I’ve got myself into. 

  


I exhaled, letting all the air out of my lungs, and immediately booked it to the pipe. Leaping off the edge felt like forever. My entire body felt weightless, my clothes flapping in the surrounding air. Now from here, you could expect that pipe that is several years old to hold on to a hundred and forty-pound kid running at full speed and manage not to break with all that momentum. Well, you would be dumb to think that… that’s not how physics works. 

  


I grab hold of the metal pipe, alarmed to hear a snap at the top. As the pipe sped up downwards and realizing how I got myself into this position, I freaked out with horror and looked frantically to find something to hold on to, only then to realize that it frankly was hopeless. I yelled on the way down to the ground. 

  


I felt a quick jerk and my body stopped suddenly. I still had my eyes closed, scared of the outcome I might have faced. But when I opened them up, I looked only to see that I was just a few feet above the ground. The top of the pipe hit the side of the wall and managed to stay in shape. I sighed in relief and slowly made my way down to the ground. Dusting myself off, I looked back at the guard who was now stuck on the roof. 

  


“Sorry about that! Won’t happen again!” He was pissed and yelled out a lot of F-bombs that I could faintly hear him off in the distance... I wonder how he will get down from there. I ran to one of the gates and made my way back to the main road. 

  
  


\-------- 

  


Looking back at my past, I’ve come to realize that my life has been utter shit. The only years that I could count as “normal” years would only be from the day I was born until I reached five… Actually the things that I could remember were only when I was five. So essentially one year out of my life. I could’ve had a normal life. My parents are doing normal parent things and my sister being my sister. All of that was gone with the war… the fourth fucking war that this world had to have. Our home got invaded, bombed down before our eyes. Mom, Dad, and Sis had to go off and defend the island of Hawaii while I was evacuated back to the mainland US with my aunt. 

  


After the war, all I got was news from overhearing my aunt talking with a military person at the front door. She cried as the man left, only with the letter in my aunt’s hand. Both my sister and dad were gone, never to come back. Seeing my mother at the funeral was difficult. The two crosses beside each other that represented the two family members I had now among hundreds of thousands more. It felt hopeless. That pain I felt, it was carried through the rest of my life. 

  


All I had left was my mother… But even then, she was never there for the rest of my life. She was assigned as the Prime Minister and Director of the United Federations of Falsean and Earth, practically known as UFFE. 

  


My dad’s dog tag was just the remnant of everything that I had lost. 

  


BATAKE KIZUATO

CS: KIMONO-ZERO 

A-POS 

1ST RECKER BATTALION 

  


Even to this day, I always proudly wear it around my neck. I don’t see myself as a materialistic person or like having accessories on me, but it means more than a piece of metal. There were a few scuffs and scratches and a little bit of rust on the tag but it wasn’t too bad, it was holding up well with age. 

  


I lived nearby a minor city where there were sizeable buildings but nothing like skyscrapers, and a lot of apartments and stores with small alleyways and such. I usually go through a small shortcut that goes straight to my house, which includes these small alleyways. It reeks of piss and shit, and sometimes there’s many people who to the normal eyes of society would call “suspicious”. Either way, I’ve always gone through this path and nothing has happened to me since… well, except for some small encounters of people offering me stuff and useless scams, but I wouldn’t say anything too bad. 

  


As I entered the small corridor, the sound of cars and commotion of the streets were suppressed from the small alleyway. The sheer smell of the ground hit me like a hammer. I never got used to the smell throughout these years. The white paint of the graffiti on the walls and the damp ground of water surrounded me. Insignificant pieces of litter were scattered on the ground, from burger wrappers to several cigarette butts. It was a perfect place for any illegal activity. 

  


As I was halfway through the alley, the sound of footsteps startled me. I looked back slightly to see two men just walking side by side. It didn’t look like they were talking to each other, but something about it just didn’t feel… right. I kept walking on, hoping that it was merely two men walking down the alleyway, minding their business as I minded mine. Once I entered the busy streets again, my next move was to head to the next corridor, unfortunately finding the two same men were still shadowing me, around fifteen feet behind. 

  


I picked up my pace and quickly headed to the next alleyway, hoping that they would go away. Yet they still were behind me. I walked a bit faster; they did as well. 

  


“Fuck this, I’m out…” As I left the alleyway, I immediately booked it down the street. Both of the men started to follow me at the same speed, probably knowing that I knew they were me. The distance from them to me began to decrease, slowly but surely catching up to me. I ran through the busy traffic, nearly hitting several cars and hopping over barriers. A lot of bystanders stood startled, the scene playing out before them one straight from an action movie. 

  


I was nearly out of breath, almost to the point that I started to slow down. I tried to find a way to lose them, and I looked at a small ladder that led up to a rooftop of a small building. I thought surely this would deter them. 

  


I grabbed onto the ladder and struggled up to the roof. I was winded, I couldn’t run anymore… my muscles are giving out, and got a few scrapes from earlier today… fucking hell… “Could my life get any worse!?” 

  


“Hey, kid!” A voice from the other side of the building caught my attention. 

  


“Nice try to run away but… you forgot to account for your escape plan.” The same two men reached the roof and were standing at a distance from me. Both were tired as well but still had strength in them. I decided to just give up and follow what they wanted. I don’t even have anything good for them either way. 

  


“What do you two want from me? I don’t have the money nor do I have-“ One of them interrupted me. 

  


“We need you to come with us.” I was very conflicted with the words he had just said. 

  


“Excuse me… um what?” 

  


“Don’t ask questions, just come with us.” This was getting weirder by the minute. He started to get a little aggravated and with his voice having small English and Russian accent to it, it was sort of apparent. 

  


“Kid, don’t make this harder than it is right now…” I walked back towards the ledge. I thought I could just jump to the other building, but the height and distance were just way too impossible. The only way out was just to run through them and head down the ladder. But even that was just insane. I dropped my bags and rolled up my sleeves. A few punches and shoves wouldn’t be bad right? 

  


“Hey what are you doing? We’re asking nicely, just come with us.” They pulled out guns from their jackets and lowered their hoods to reveal their faces, only with the mouth and nose covered by a mask. My plan was now off the roof. I am practically being threatened by two random people who I just met. 

  


I mean… What would they want me for? I have nothing special unless they are trying to get my organs? No, no, no… why would they chase me for that? They could’ve just took anyone off the streets… I just stopped thinking and just let out a huge breath and put my hands up in surrender. 

  


“Hey Athos, I’ll take care of it…” The guy on the right lowered his weapon and pulled out a zip tie to arrest me. He had it slung around his chest, almost carelessly. his was a Heckler and Koch MP7, no wonder he could hide it under his jacket. As he was walking towards me, I had an idea. 

  


“See kid, just letting us do the work is so much easier-“ As soon as he got close to me, I grabbed and pulled his gun away from him hard enough, that I broke the sling and kicked him away. The now unarmed man landed on the ground hard. He groaned and squirmed in pain. With his gun, I immediately pointed it towards the other guy. 

  


“Who are you? Why are you trying to take me?” The person, Athos, didn’t back down and kept his gun on me. He had the same weapon as I was holding. 

  


“Drop the gun, and We’ll explain...” I meandered towards him, thinking I could deter him. He Still having the sights on me. 

  


“Why should I trust you? There’s nothing special about me.” Both of us had the same weapons with the same finger on the trigger, and stood there, waiting for the other to shoot. The only difference? I had minimal experience with a firearm and the gun rattled as I was shaking in fear, tensed up with what would happen next. He pulled out a small radio, while he still had the gun at me. 

  


“Cap, I’m just going to do the same thing as last time. Just get medical up here...” As he put his radio down, he racked charging handle and hurried his gun, preparing to fire. I backed up and tried to fire the gun, but the trigger wouldn’t move. I looked at the gun, only to see it was still set to safe. I immediately fumbled around for the lever. It was too late. 

  


“Wait wait wait! Stop!” As he aimed directly to my lower torso, a female like voice was at the ladder, almost out of breath… and the same age as me? 

  


“Athos! What in the fuck are you doing?” Both myself and the toughened soldier turned at the voice, the woman standing before us staring resolutely back, her long highlighted crimson hair flowing through the wind. 

  



	3. Chapter 2 /  Unusual Occurrence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this is the second chapter of the series. I hope you liked what you have read so far, and if you want to give feedback on anything, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a superb day or night!

The voice that yelled finally climbed up the ladder and stood up on the roof, revealing a young woman wearing tactical gear― slim and minimalistic but not like a stereotypical woman with a gun you see on magazines or highly stereotyped movies. She was pretty and fit, gear suited for stealth, looking like a modern-day ninja. 

  


“What do you think I’m doing?! He’s the one who ran away!” She came up to Athos and forcibly lowered his gun with a push of her hand. 

  


“This is a pickup, Athos! This isn’t supposed to be a kidnapping!” She stared at the man with disappointment while unloading the gun. She shoved the empty weapon back onto his chest violently. 

  


“Shooting them in the legs and letting them pass out before you? Why did you think the director put you in punishment for a week from last month’s incident?” Athos merely smirked back. Apparently they had the same situation as mine where they did shoot someone… lovely. “Athos, get Yuma and take him down to the car, I’ll do the rest.” 

  


“Tch, this is bullshit… let’s get this over with then.” She sighed in reply and began walking towards me. I still had my gun up, eyes wide in fear and confusion. With each step she took forward, I took one back. She stopped, took a deep breath, and removed her gun from her body, slowly dropping it on the ground. 

  


“I’m not here to kill or kidnap anyone, you just have to trust us… or, if it’s easier, just me.” Bit by bit, I started to calm down, taking slower breaths, lowering my weapon. She offered an inviting hand to me to give the gun over. Once the weapon was out of my hold, I fell down to my knees, let out a deep breath, and looked at my hands for almost a minute in total shock. 

  


“There, see?” My head felt lightheaded… most likely the aftermath of everything that had happened setting in. 

  


“Sorry for what you had to experience and uh… this whole fiasco my mates caused.” She says softly, kneeling down and dusting my shoulder off. I still continued to stare down at my shaking hands. My veins were popping out, pulsing a pure blue. I know I have done questionable things in the past, but disarming a person and standing face to face against a man with a gun?― it was an immense shock to me. 

  


She softly taps on my shoulder to grab my attention. “Hey, are you good?” I took a deep breath and looked up at her. With her eyes the color red… maybe almost crimson, she stared right at me, almost as if she was looking at my soul. 

  


“No, I’m not looking at your soul…” Huh? What…? 

  


“How did you...” She chuckled and helped me straighten up, as I was surely a full-on wreck. As I checked myself for any dirt, she went back to get her gun from the ground and holstered it. I was sweaty, dusty, and miserable. She comes back almost immediately, grabbing my hand and shaking it forcibly. 

  


“The name’s Jasper Rheins, the one supposed to be leading your pick-up crew. But obviously that didn’t happen correctly.” She says, exasperation evident in her words. I tried to gather my thoughts together and try to speak as normal as I could. 

  


“Yeah… yeah, no shit... and what do you mean by a pick-up crew?” I looked around, mind swarming, the extent of everything that had happened finally hitting me. Unbothered by my confusion, she pulls out a piece of paper from her small bag along with a tablet, holding it up to my face. 

  


“Hold on, I need to scan you.” She turned on the tablet and the camera attached clicked to life, examining my face and eyes. It went over my features a couple of times until finally stopping, a robotic voice saying simply: “Scan complete, Identity confirmed.” 

  


She looked at my face, then back to the tablet and then back to my face once more. “So... Kizuato Akani right?” 

  


“Y-yes, um... could you please tell me what exactly is going on?” Immediately after I asked, the tablet began to ring, getting a call. I guess I’ll never get my question answered. At this point, I just want to go home and get some rest, eat some food and enjoy what I have left in life. I looked at Jasper, who, for some reason, looked almost as nervous to answer the call. Is it really that big of a deal? 

  


“Shhh! I need to concentrate!” How the fuck? I immediately groaned, annoyed by my confusion and lack of answers. She accepts the call, revealing a black silhouette on the screen. 

  


“Ahhh director, how convenient! I was just about to-” She was suddenly interrupted by a very distorted voice, sounding like something that came straight from hell. 

  


“Did you get him?” Jasper visibly didn’t look confident but she was trying her best to stay… well, normal. 

  


“Oh uh, yes! Yes he- I mean we did!” Why is this such a big deal- oh, and she’s now giving me the death look. She must have some kind of supernatural power to hear what I’m saying. I’m just watching a so-called “leader” just nervously talking to someone that is merely asking questions… Well… possibly the fact that the voice sounded downright terrifying but, that shouldn’t be a problem if you talked to him already, right? 

  


“Was there any problems dealt with?” She started to look very nervous, considering that she tried to laugh it off like there was no issue. 

  


“Oh no there was no issue! It all went according to-” I interjected in her sentence, just pissed off to the boiling point. I just wanted to go home. 

  


“Actually no! I was held at gunpoint! No one is giving me any answers to anythi-” In a flash, my gut felt like it was being twisted and crushed. Jasper had punched my stomach so hard that I fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Now I knew what it felt like to be Yuma when I kicked him down earlier. I looked up to her, still in pain. 

  


“Oops… sorry! Just needed to relieve some stress.” She glared down at me, seething, looking like she was seconds away from killing someone. 

  


“Hey! Augh... you bitch! What was that for?!” I tried to stand back up, clenching my throbbing stomach. 

  


“Huh? I thought I told you to shut up!” She suddenly got into my face, as best as she could given the height advantage I had over her. 

  


“What do you mean, prick? You fucking lied to whoever you are talking to-” 

  


“The director?” 

  


“Yes! And you haven’t tried to tell me anything that I need!” She stuck her finger right in my chest, pointing aggressively. 

  


“Maybe because you don’t need to know anything yet! What are you? Some dense-ass protagonist?” We both kept barking at each other, almost getting physical, and arguing over almost nothing until we were finally interrupted by a horrific laugh on the other side of the tablet. Whoever it was, it sounded playful. 

  


“Ah, you two are hilarious!” He clears his throat "Jasper, go easy on the kid. He’s just like every other first year.” Jasper finally lets me go, giving me a disparaging smirk. I dusted myself off and tried my best to compose myself. Jasper gets the tablet from the ground and dusts it as well. 

  


“So, since you want answers, I’ll give you answers. Mr. Kizuato…” I already got my questions lined up to be said. 

  


“Thank you. Just what is going on? How do you know me? Who are you people?” I really just hope I get what I want to know. 

  


“So Mr. Kizuato, you are being picked up by these people because you have been selected to join us at our specialist academy.” The screen changes into a map, showing an island somewhere off the ocean. It was very small but grey and green, almost like the entire spot of land was a city. 

  


“What is this academy? I didn’t even know that this place existed until just now...” The screen then follows up to a new picture: 

  
  
  


-HEIWA ELITE ACADEMY- 

STUDENT: AKANI KIZUATO

STATUS: ACCEPTED

  
  
  


My name was bolded on the screen under the big name, Heiwa Elite Academy. The status bar below my name showed “accepted”, colored in green. It was almost like I was being initiated into some top-secret organization. It doesn’t feel right, the fact that I am entirely sure that I did not sign up for this. I just know that something is up and it was nothing good for me. 

  


“This academy only chooses students in Earth and Falsea who possess certain traits and talents that… well, benefit both that individual, the academy, and the world.” The screen changes into a picture of my face, almost like from the camera in the scanner that Jasper used on me earlier. “We choose students with their unknown capabilities that could be put into good use and…” As he continued, a whisper came from the tablet, almost like a different person was talking to the director. The conversation lasted for a second, with the inclusion of aggressive whispering, it ended with a sigh. 

  


“Looks like we might have to cut short, there is some important business that I have to take care of. Sorry about that.” The screen then transitions to the same silhouette earlier. “Jasper will take care of everything else from here on out. You can try to ask some questions, but she might not be able to answer all of them...” I sighed, knowing that I got the answer that I needed, albeit half-assed. 

  


“Oh and one more thing, Mr. Kizuato...” 

  


“You will be going to the island today. I want to talk to you personally…” I looked at the tablet in shock. 

  


“Wait… today?! Like, not going home today?” I started to stress- pulling my hair and pacing around the roof. There was too much to think about right now. 

  


“There’s no need to panic Mr. Kizuato… we have arrangements set up for your arrival. And really, you can’t say no to any of this since you have, well… maybe three guns ready to put against your head, but I don’t see any issues arising from that right?” I sighed. He was right. I guess I don’t have a say in anything. 

  


“Jokes and threats aside, I would want you to come to my office when you have settled down. From there, I’ll give you the answers that you need… Obviously, there’s a lot of things that you don’t know, many of which probably should’ve been said years ago...” Jasper starts to pack up her things and once done, she makes eye contact with the tablet she has been holding. 

  


“Director, we’ll start heading out now…” Jasper then looks at me, strangely serious. “I know this whole thing is a shit-show in itself but, everything is going to be alright in the end you know?” The tablet speaks for the final time. 

  


“You’ve got to trust us, mister Kizuato, there’s no other way around it.” As if I really had a choice. Jasper says something to the director before hanging up. From here on out, I didn’t know how to feel, the mixture of confusion and worry piling up and prohibiting my other emotions from forming correctly. I was so conflicted at everything that I’ve been told, to what has been happening for the past hour, and quite frankly, I didn’t know what to do. It was like I’m on a train ride that leads to an unknown destination that I’m forced to go to. 

  


“Hey Akani, we better start heading out. We’ve got a jet for us at the airbase and it won’t wait forever. Make sure you bring everything you have.” I grabbed all of my belongings and my bag that I carried along. I then started to realize something that I was forgetting. 

  


“Wait! What about my stuff from my home?! I’m not going home!” She looked like she forgot to tell me something that she should’ve told me earlier. 

  


“Yes, yes, about that. There’s another team breaking in and cleaning it out to bring as well. From your clothes to your filthy porn mags, they are all going to Heiwa.” She smuggly grins, enjoying how annoying she knew she was being, despite how stressed I was. I already know she’s going to be a pain in the ass if I end up being stuck with her, and that’s not even including the other two, Athos and Yuma. they themselves are already a headache without doing much. 

  


We headed down to the street where there was an armoured car waiting for us. It looked almost like one of those SWAT carriers that the police use but with some slight color changes in the design, such as it’s lighter blue trim and matte black color. Both me and Jasper entered the car with Yuma laying down in the back. He was okay, all he wanted to do was sleep, which was understandable. Athos, on the other hand, was up in the front, seated behind the wheel. 

  


“What took so long? We’ve been waiting for almost fifteen minutes!” Jasper threw her bags and gloves in the front seat at Athos. 

  


“Ahh, quit whining. The director called me during the scanning. It wasn’t that long. Also, you need to report to the head office for what happened earlier. I’m not trying to get yelled at tonight.” Athos scoffed from Jasper’s remarks. 

  


“Ah I’ll take care that, you don’t have to remind me twice…” He starts up the car, rumbling it to life. “It’ll be an hour to arrive at the airbase, so I hope you grabbed everything.” Once I was seated behind Athos and Jasper to my side, we began our trek towards the airbase. I looked back at Yuma only to see him snoring. Jasper also takes a quick glimpse at the snoring man and pokes him on the cheek, seemingly trying to see if he was actually passed out. 

  


“Just leave him be. You didn’t do that much to him with your kick.” She laughed under her breath. To be honest, when she is not being a total pain in the ass, she could actually be a decent person. 

  


“What? I can’t be nice all the time?” The way she immediately jumped in right after my thoughts caught me off guard. 

  


“Okay, answer me this time, how are you doing that? That’s like the fifth time that you've answered me without me even opening my mouth…” Athos gave a haughty laugh in the front, Jasper smiling all innocent at me. I was too damn tired to deal with much of anything right now, and with these people irritating me, it was just making it worse. 

  


“Oh man, he really doesn’t know about shit.” Athos said with a final huff of amusement, finally calming down. Which was good because everytime he laughed, I could feel his steering sync with his compulsive laughter, drifting left and right. 

  


“There’s so much to learn kid, there’s a reason why the academy chose you.” Athos suddenly took out a brown folder and chunked it right at me, hitting me in the face. It was sealed with the word “Confidential” on the front with a string binding it. 

  


“What is this?” I started to unwrap the string, The paper felt quite bulky and heavy. 

  


“It’s your information and everything about you, probably could learn a few things about what to expect at this school by just looking at it.” As I opened it up, I was greeted with a list of information with my name on top of the paper. From my biological stuff to my home. However some of the other things in that list were either missing or just not completed. 

  


\--------

STUDENT: Akani Kizuato 

  


Approved by: Heiwa Intelligence Division 

  


Age: 18 

Gender: Male 

Blood: AB 

Height: 5’10 / 177.8 CM 

Birth Year: 2160 

Birth Location: Hawaii, USA 

  


HS Graduate: Yes 

Heiwa Rank: 1st Year / Rank A 

  


Division: Unassigned 

  


Sei Score: N/A 

Element: N/A 

CS: N/A 

Wep: Not Assigned 

Room: Not Assigned 

Team: Not Assigned 

  


PU Team: Tigris Alpha 

PU Lead: Jasper Loren Rheins 

  


Information / Notes: 

Tier 4- must be kept safe at all times. Affiliation currently classified for the safety of person and affiliates. 

Testing- Testing of individuals could not take place due Tier 4 Security. Testing will be conducted at the academy with all accommodations. Individual also has limited skill, accommodations will be given to said individual to have a minimal and fair observation and evaluation. 

Sei Evaluation:Initial assessment has been made / Information has been removed due to security risks, please contact HID for clearance. 

  


Final Conclusion: Individual’s Element is unknown due to incomplete testing. Individual will be given appropriate Sei Crystal to activate element once evaluation is done. 

\--------

The notes at the bottom were the things that Athos mentioned to me. What the heck is a Sei score?― and what “evaluation” are they going to give me? All of this almost looked like I was some kind of mutant from X-men and this was almost structured like Hogwarts. Jasper took the paper from my hand and turned into another section of the packet. 

  


The page had all of my achievements and talents… and my disciplinary record? The whole page was listed from the beginning of middle-school all the way up from graduation. From my academic competitions to sport accomplishments… and reports of my terrible conduct throughout highschool. However, despite the long list of my record, right beside each achievement or record was a word lined in red saying “OMIT”. Everything on that list was omitted. So the reason behind this whole thing was now more confusing on my end. Jasper then pointed out the omits. 

  


“You see Akani, as the director said, we don't just willy nilly choose anyone to attend the academy..” She hands me back the paper. “Heiwa is not only an elite school, it’s home to many specialized students that have their own talents. Talents in which not a lot of people possess. This academy didn’t choose you for your talents that you have shown, but the traits you may possess, something that you didn’t even know you had.” She pulls out a knife from her pocket, just inspecting it and cleaning it. 

  


“A lot of people at this academy specialize in combat, just like me, Athos, and Yuma.” She puts her blade back into her sheathe. 

  


“So what you’re saying is that everyone at the school has these so-called “talents”, in which most use them for combat... Sounds more like a private military company than it is.” She chuckles again but shakes her head in disagreement. 

  


“Ah that’s what a lot of people say, mainly conspirators who’ve never actually stepped on the island. Yes, most of us specialize in combat but heiwa is also home of one the most extensive research facilities on this planet. From medical, technological, and military combat. It was where the discovery of these powers existed.” As time has flown by with the conversations with Jasper, nothing still lines up with anything that I know currently. From the pick up, to my rejections, to even the things I am hearing right now, I still have a lot of questions, but I’m not trying to annoy Jasper again, seeing as she might try to assault me again if I did cross that line. 

  


I feel now that I just might as well accept it, there was little use in fighting back and escaping this mess. I might just as well figure out what the hell is going on when I talk to the director. I wonder who he’s like? Is he intimidating when you talk? Who knows. 

  


My legs were sore and my mind was tired. We had a little less than an hour until we reached the airbase. Slowly, my eyes started to close and my mind drifted away to the low rumble of the car. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, as always if you would like to leave some feedback, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!


	4. Chapter 3 / Bad Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Ignite here, this a longer chapter, but not too much. This chapter was also difficult to write out but I had fun in the process. Hope you enjoy this chaper!

  


I have never felt so tired in my life; I don’t even know how long I’ve  
slept. I hope everything from today was merely a dream, just some terrible  
nightmare to shrug off later. I was sore, dirty, and utterly shocked from  
today’s mess and don’t see anything settling down later on in the road..3  


  


I was passed out, completely unaware of my surroundings. My mind blank, just hoping to wake up to a fresh day with none of this mess. Maybe wake up to a different reality… yeah, that's not going to happen. 

  


I felt a rumbling of some sort― it was low, but not that noticeable. It was almost like I was laying down in a car driving on a highway. Fuck, this probably might not be a dream at all. 

  


I could feel myself starting to wake up… slowly but surely I inched my way to move around and my body. The rumbling suddenly stopped, faded out from my senses... Then it abruptly started again, until it happened consecutively on and off a couple more times. I knew something was off. 

  


I tried to open my eyes, but it felt like they were glued down, like waking up in the early mornings. The rumbling then became a slight earthquake… wait, no… I could now feel the vibrations in my chest. It was a violent sensation, as if explosions were going off in the distance. The fading in of sirens in the distance were accompanied with vague yelling and screaming of people, freaking out or in agony. It sounded like total chaos, almost like a riot. I tried to force myself to wake up, only to find my entire body paralyzed. Slowly, everything around me sounded more vivid, more violent crashes and barrages that grew louder and louder until it became unbearable to my ears, almost deafening to the extent. 

  


An explosion flung earth up into my face, rupturing right next to me. I could feel my body being flung and hitting the ground. I couldn’t feel pain, I couldn’t feel anything… Am I dead? I could finally open up my eyes, only to see the horizon lit up in red, a blurry fiery red. The forms of buildings being swallowed by fire, the smoke coming up from destroyed vehicles― it was like a war zone. 

  


There is no way this is happening. A silhouette came― to me, moving in panic and urgency. It rolled my body to face the sky. Planes were zooming over, streaks of bullets flying through the air. The person shook my body, as if I was unconscious. She had long hair and her face... almost looked like my sister. 

  


“Akani! Akani!” I couldn’t move, engulfed in complete helplessness, my body slack and non-responding. She pulled me up, carrying me on her shoulder. In front of her, I see two other people carrying guns, guiding us to an unknown location. I can’t make sense of anything that was going on. Everything was happening so fast. Explosions were going off left and right, gunfire being heard from the distance. We’ve passed several destroyed buildings, seeing the hands of people begging for help, people crying over their loved one's body, various dismembered parts laying on the ground. I started to lose consciousness, my sister noticing it. 

  


“Mom! Dad! We need to stop!” Those were my parents? I couldn’t tell that they were. I looked closer, my mom’s face was clear as day but for my dad… it was like he had no face at all, blacked out, entirely unrecognizable. Hastily, my sister laid me down beside a wall. Next to it, there was a sign that had the words… 

  


WFTA OPERATIONS BASE [HAWAII AIR-BASE]

  


Hawaii? An airbase? Oh god… This was the start of the fourth war. My eyes widened. My heart beated faster. I could feel my body shake. This can’t be happening… This can’t be happening! 

  


“Akani. Hey, Akani!” Everything went blank. I’m going to die, aren’t I? “Akani! Hey, wake up!” The rumbling became louder. 

  


“Take cover!” A male voice shouted and pierced the commotion. Suddenly, I felt an intense thud, the force of the shock running through my body in a flash of overwhelming sensations. It was almost as if a bomb had exploded right beside us. My vision went completely white, blinded by a harsh light. I could feel my head hitting something… 

  


Slowly, the sound of a car going over something came to my ears, my head aching. Did I hit something? 

  


“Ugh, what? Ow!” Jasper was laughing at me, with Yuma, who was now awake, sitting up with his gear on. Fuck, that wasn’t a dream what so ever… well, dealing with these people, I had sure hoped it was. 

  


“Sorry about that kid, just hit a small speed bump. Didn’t expect it to kick like that.” My head was throbbing, in an I-can-feel-my-pulse type of way. It was bright outside, but the sun was above the horizon, nearly hitting evening. We were driving through a boulevard that led up to an entrance of the airbase. The entire place was not too packed, with just the right amount of bustle. There was a lot of activity all around, people going about doing their own businesses, training and working for whatever was in store. 

  


I was still rubbing my head, massaging to hopefully mediate the pain away. As I leaned back groaning in pain, Jasper took a glance at me.5 

  


“Bad dream?” She kindly passed me an unopened water bottle. I gladly took it, along with a large swig. I then put the somewhat cold bottle against my head, cooling my growing and upset bump down. 

  


“Yeah... it’s whatever.” She looks at me concerned, almost as if she was probing to know more about it. Maybe she looked at my thoughts again with whatever she uses to read me. 

  


I’ll be honest. This was not uncommon for me to have these “flashbacks”, and even so it’s been a while since I’ve had that bad of a memory come back up. It has always been the same exact thing over and over again. I thought I would get used to it but… the screaming, the chaos, everything is just as agonising to hear and see. I don’t think my situation will alleviate the memories and really, I don’t see an end to this. 

  


“Alright, we’re here!” The car suddenly stops right against the curb, next to a sandy-colored building. Athos getting out and opening the door to the car. Everyone in the car disembarked, grabbing our belongings before hopping out. The entire place was sort of barren. It was just buildings on top of buildings, no actual structure to the architecture. 

  


Jasper gives Athos some paperwork, talking about our flight and instructs him to head inside. Yuma, on the other hand, continues to unload extra stuff from the car. Now that I notice it, I haven’t heard him speak in a single conversation this whole time, other than when he was screaming for me to yield. I tapped Jasper on her arm to grab her attention. 

  


“What’s up?” I nodded in Yuma’s direction. “Is he okay? I haven’t heard him talk in a while.” She nervously but softly laughs. Did something happen to him? 

  


“Well, you see… When you were sleeping, he talked about you during your rooftop quarrel. He is actually pissed that you got the upper hand on him, so he tried to sleep it off, which, in this case, didn't happen.” Oh great, I’ve already made an enemy. 

  


“Wait, so is he mad at me or himself-” The back car door was forcefully shut, startling everyone in the area who had witnessed its bang. The birds around the area flew off, spooked by the sound. He dropped everything he was holding aggressively to the floor and dusted his hands, looking quickly at Jasper, to which she nervously stared back. 

  


“I’m going to take a shit.” And with that, he turns, and leaves. That’s the first time I have ever seen someone so mad they needed to go to the restroom. Jasper cackles, which quickly turns into a hysterical laugh. 

  


“He can’t be that upset! Are you kidding me?” I nervously glance at Jasper. 

  


“Is it really that big of a deal?” She calms down. 

  


“Yuma? Apparently it is!” She wipes a small tear from the corner of her eye. This woman... 

  


“What do you mean?” She tries to calm herself down to talk. 

  


“Yuma is one of the highest-ranked students in his class and he is very touchy about it. Never in the world has he been taken down by a rookie like you!” She continues to laugh and gather up herself before she passes out from not breathing. I don’t know how she is laughing this hard. 

  


“I don’t know if this is that funny…” She finally starts to breathe but heavily to stop herself. 

  


“Well, if you know him personally, it is kind of funny.” As I looked at her trying to get herself together, my bladder felt terrible. Probably shouldn’t have taken that much water. 

  


“Yo Jasper, I’m going to use the restroom.” She waves at me at acknowledgement. 

  


I ran to the restroom quickly trying to rush at the nearest urinal. I really hope Yuma didn’t actually take my actions personally. I was just doing what I had to do. He looked like he wanted to come at me with a knife when he stared down at me. Eh, who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised at this point. 

  


I finished up my last drop and headed towards the sink to wash my hands. Ah, I don’t know how many times I want to just lay down on a soft bed, sleep in comfort and all that. Simply forget everything that has happened this whole day. Wait, that reminds me, where is Yuma? 

  


The click of the pistol being armed startled me. As I turned around, the barrel of a gun was shoved on my forehead. It was Yuma, holding a full size Beretta, looking anguished and frustrated. “You better not say a damn word about earlier today.” 

  


“Whoa whoa!” I put my hands up in fear. 

  


“I swear to god, if you tell anyone about this…” He sounded very angry, almost like he was some psycho. 

  


“Chill out! Are you really going to just kill me just over some small act?” I sighed, exasperated. 

  


“I shouldn’t be the one you need to worry about. Jasper over there is laughing her ass off.” I turned off the faucet and slowly lowered my hands. He still was very frustrated. 

  


“Look… I’m sorry that I shoved you down earlier. But what did you expect?” Yuma’s face looked fiercer and angrier than before. 

  


“Tch… you disgust me.” He puts his thumb on the hammer and puts it back down, however, he grabs my shirt by the collar. 

  


“Dude, chill out it was just a-” He swung his pistol back to hit me in the head. I covered my head to prepare for the hit. 

  


“Not so fast.” A Russian voice suddenly emitted throughout the restroom. I looked at the mirror, and Athos was gripping Yuma’s wrist aggressively. The gun was rattling and vibrating as both of the men’s arms were struggling. 

  


“I’m the one who’s supposed to beat him up, Yuma. Calm the fuck down.” Yuma shakes his arm off Atho’s hand. He holstered his gun and stammered out the door. He really has some anger issues. 

  


“Damn, he needs to check his ego.” He dusts his hands off. 

  


“You good, kid?” Athos punches me on the shoulder, painfully, something of which that will surely bruise later. 

  


“Ouch! What the hell?” He chuckled. 

  


“Looks like you have a new enemy.” He went up to the sink and washed his hands. My arm was swelling up from the punch he gave me. 

  


“No shit…” I remarked, to which he laughed softly in return. “You’re acting nice all of a sudden.” 

  


“Ah, I hate doing these types of jobs. That incident that Lieutenant talked about? I was forced and easily pissed off. Ended up shooting the guy in the leg. They always run away confused.” He puts his hand out, offering a handshake. “But you, heh… first time I had ever felt exhilarated by a newbie.” I gripped his hand and firmly shook it. “Athos Gorya, at your service.” 

  


“Oh, um.... thank you…” I didn’t know what to say to him so I let go of his damp hand. He went to the restroom door and opened it up. 

  


“We better leave soon or the pilot will get mad at us.” We both walked out the restroom and headed back to the car where Jasper and Yuma were waiting for us. We all grabbed our belongings and headed inside the main building. There were people sitting around relaxing and others talking, a typical scene. It almost felt like a normal airport, but full of people in uniform. A young lady came to us, holding a clipboard. 

  


“Rheins?” She asks and Jasper raises her hand. 

  


“Yep, thats me!” The both of them shook hands. 

  


“All right, your jet should be ready. Just head out to the tarmac and I’ll bring all of you to the apron.” The four of us went out to the other side of the doors, revealing a huge airfield with jets lined up as far as the eye could see. 

  


“Ever been inside an airbase before?” Jasper asked as we walked. 

  


“I’ve seen one outside but not fully on the inside, no.” We all got on board a small cart on the tarmac. Once everyone was on, we were driven down the airbase for a couple of minutes, seeing planes take off and land, and hearing the pure sound of jet engines. We turned into a hangar which was fully open. 

  


“All right, we’re here!” We all got off the cart and headed towards the hangar doors. Once we got closer, the jet was a piece of architecture from the twentieth-century. Well, for its purpose I didn’t expect to be used like it is right now. 

  


“Wait isn’t that a B-1 Lancer? Like a bombing plane?” The lady laughs at me. 

  


“Well, yes! It is an old B-1. You know these things?” I chuckled. 

  


“Well, yeah, my father used to be in the Air-Force.” She raised her eyebrow, impressed by my limited knowledge. 

  


“That’s very impressive. Well, now this B-1 has been refurbished with new tech and repurposed for passenger transport. This will get you to your destination in under a few hours!” The aircraft still had its grey paint and it’s old-fashioned design, but the engines were different along with the added windows on the side of the aircraft. As I was about to head up, the lady slightly held my shirt preventing me from heading up the cabin. 

  


“Kizuato, right?” She asked me, slightly curious about who I was. 

  


“Y-yes, that’s me…” She pulls my hand and gives me a small object and smiles at me. 

  


“Keep this, make sure you give it to the director of Heiwa.” I opened up my palm to see that she had given me a small flash drive. 

  


“Wait. what is thi-” As soon as I looked up, she was nowhere to be found. I looked around… nothing. I shook my head to clear up what my mind was thinking right now. Just expect the unexpected, Akani. 

  


I climbed up the stairs to the main cabin of the jet. It almost looked like the inside of a private jet, but in a way that it was still meant for conventional passengers. Athos and Yuma sat in different seats, seeing that we were the only ones flying in this plane. I sat in the front next to the window, getting a pleasant view of the wing and just the sheer beauty of this plane. I placed my extra bag right next to me, since there were no flight attendants to bark at us. 

  


“Anyone else sitting here?” But of course, she would be the one to ruin my mood for this flight. As I sighed, she laughed. 

  


“Ah don’t worry, I’m not going to sit next to you. Just behind you.” She puts her stuff on the seats right next to her and sits down. The more I spend time with these people, the more I realize how interesting they are. Athos with his mysterious persona, Yuma the jealous prodigy, and Jasper the passive aggressive gun-girl. It was certainly a weird trio to have as a team, but it worked out somehow. 

  


“This is your pilot speaking, we will arrive at the island ETA three hours, local time at arrival will be sixteen zero zero. I hope you all brought everything on because there is no going back here.” The small speakers in the jet were fuzzy, but clear enough that we could hear what the pilot was trying to say. The jet rolled out of the hangar and into the humid air. Engines started up quickly and quietly. I wished that this plane had wifi so I could somehow beat the time away. I looked towards the back of the cabin and I could already see the two men sleeping away, Athos leaning back with his mouth open, while Yuma was sitting with his eyes closed, almost like he was awake. Jasper on the other hand was looking outside the window. 

  


“Hey Jasper.” She looked at me. 

  


“Mhmm?” 

  


“Since, you know, I’m being dragged into this situation, what’s it like over there?” She smiled and looked out the window, gathering her thoughts together. 

  


“Heiwa? Hmm, how would I describe it...” She continues to look out the window. “It’s a place that needs to be seen to even try to describe it. The city school life, everything is completely different.” 

  


“Well, how would you describe it in one word?” She closes her eyes and then looks at me. 

  


“An ‘opportunity’.” She sits up in her chair, making herself comfortable. 

  


“I would say this whole place and being able to be there was the best thing that has ever happened to me. All of us. Me, Athos, Yuma― everyone started out like you did.” She looked almost melancholic. Her mood suddenly changed from her happy and playful self to something else. “If I never got this opportunity, I don’t know where I would be.” She just stared at the seat, eyes fixed in thought. 

  


“Is there something wrong?” She shook her head to clear up her mind. I laughed under my breath. 

  


“Oh yea, I’m okay- Wait why are you laughing?” She threw a glove at me and smacked me right in the face. Her glove had a plastic/carbon fiber like knuckle guard on it and it directly hit my nose. My nose bled all over my shirt and jeans. 

  


“Shit! What the hell?” She was giggling while I was holding my nose to stop the bleeding. I tried to look for any cloth or paper to patch up my nose but all I could find was a single tissue from my pocket. I shoved it up my nose to keep it from dripping down my clothes. Great, now I have to deal with this bloodstain for three hours straight… 

  


“Here…” Jasper was standing right next to me, holding a small piece of cloth and some sanitizer on top of it. She awkwardly smiles at me. 

  


“I forgot my gloves had those knuckle guards on, ahaha.” I stared at her, annoyed, stupidly frustrated and took the bottle and cloth off her hand. I dampened the cloth with the liquid and tried to clean off the stains from my clothes and from my face, only to have some blood smeared faintly on my clothes. I sighed. 

  


“It’ll be fine, I’ll get you extra clothes when we land.” She sits back down at her seat and buckles up. I can’t even tell if she is sorry or not… or if she’s like down or something. Tried to look at her face but she was looking out the window again, seeing the sunset in the distance. I buckled my seatbelt as the plane was about to take off on the runway. 

  


“All crew standby, preparing to take off…” The jet held its position on the runway. As the engines revved up, we moved forward. The acceleration of this jet was nothing that I have ever felt before. We soon got off the ground with the engines roaring and its afterburners creating a streak of light behind us. We were going fast, way faster than any plane I have ever been on in my life. 

  


As the wings swept backwards, and the coast of California disappeared, the flight felt smoother. I was now used to the speed of the jet, and I could stand up and stretch. Athos and Yuma were still sleeping in the back- Jasper was still looking out the window. I walked to the small restroom the jet had and took a breather. Staring at myself in the mirror, I examined how bloody and roughed up I was. 

  


Why is this happening to me? Just… why? I kept on looking at myself and completely contemplating and thinking of the situations I have been through. It has been these same questions I have been asking myself, even though by now it was pointless. There’s no turning back now, even though how much bullshit I was faced. 

  


I took out all the trash I had from earlier with the tissue and other things I had. As I was about to throw away the handful of stuff, I took out of my pockets, a bloody cloth was hanging out of my hand with the rest of the stuff. I threw everything else away except for that piece of cloth. I unfurled the piece of cloth and it was actually a greyish bandanna. One corner of the bandanna had some Japanese characters written.... 

  


クリムゾン・デーモン 

  


I couldn’t read or understand the language well, but besides that, the whole piece was smeared with blood and small red finger prints around it. It would be disgusting if I gave it back like it is right now. The bathroom had a small sink and a bottle of soap, thoroughly scrubbing the bandanna to get rid of the stains. The red foamy liquid fell down the drain. I unfurled the cloth again; it was cleaner than before but still had red residue throughout, however, it was better than nothing. 

  


As I headed back towards my seat, Jasper was already sleeping leaning against the window. She looked almost like a small child sleeping. I folded up the small bandanna and laid it on her leg. She was peaceful. Too bad she’ll be as much of a pain as before when she wakes up. I softly laughed at my inner thoughts. 

  


“You idiot…” I sat down back at my seat. I didn’t feel that tired since I slept earlier during the car ride. I might as well try to just rest my eyes for a bit. That wouldn’t hurt, right? 

  


Yeah… it wouldn’t be a terrible idea. 

  


\---------------- 

  


“Akani…” I twisted around my seat, not wanting to be woken up. 

  


“Akani… Get up…” I got aggravated and tried to move around and probably make whoever was trying to get me up to stop. My arms felt restrained. I tried to move my legs. They were as well. I opened my eyes to look around. Everything was pitch black. All I could see was my body and the chair I was in. 

  


“Why did you leave them Akani…” The voice was almost a female’s, but there was a distortion to it that made it totally clear.I frantically tried to get myself unrestrained, to find who was talking. 

  


“Who’s there?!” I felt nauseous, which immediately someone in the distance emerged. 

  


“Why did you leave me…” I kept on trying to get myself unrestrained. I looked up again and there was another figure, slightly taller. 

  


“Why did you leave me…” This has to be a dream, this has to be a fucking dream. The two figures started to come closer. Their clothes became more apparent. It was normal clothing, but the closer I looked, they looked more… torn and tattered. 

  


“Why did you leave us Akani…” Both voices started ached with pain, strained in despair. The figures started to look gruesome, bloody. Their faces, it was my dad and sister. 

  


“No! Stay away! I didn’t leave you! Stay back!” They both started to walk faster, as the surroundings started to fill with shadows of the two people. Arms once more began to restrain me from moving, pulling me down. The two figures watched me as I started to sink. 

  


“Stop! I didn’t leave you! Help me! Help me!!!” I opened my eyes again- back in the same seat on the jet I was riding on. It was just a fucking dream again. I rubbed my eyes trying to gather up my thoughts. I looked at my hands, they were shaking. 

  


“Fucking hell, it has been the second time already today…” 

  


“Bad dream again?” The voice behind me shouted. Jasper was wide awake and kicking. I sighed and shook my hair to freshen up. 

  


“Just one of those days I guess… agh, how much longer?” The doors from the restroom opened. Athos came out stretching. 

  


“Just a few more minutes until we land, just spoke with the captain earlier.” I looked out the window to find the island, but all I could see was vast amounts of water. 

  


“All crew, please head to your seats quickly, we are starting to descend and decelerate. Stand-by.” Athos went to his seat and immediately buckled up. He also woke up Yuma, who completely was fast asleep. 

  


“Decelerating in three, two, one, decelerating…” The plane slowed down drastically, shaking the whole cabin. I was immediately thrown forward and I could feel the plane sinking. The chaos started to calm down and we were now slowly cruising smoothly. I looked out and there were still no islands, yet we were low on the sea. 

  


“I don’t see the island…” Jasper softly laughs. 

  


“A few more seconds…” She replies, I waited, still no island. 

  


“I still don’t see it, where is it-” The scenery started to change, from an ocean through a transitioning mirage of a large island with a huge city on it. A citadel like tower dwarfs everything else around it. 

  


“Akani… Welcome to Heiwa.” 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a splendid day, evening, night, or where ever you are in the world!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked what you read. Again, feedback is greatly appreciated. Anything helps!


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